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6 Jul 2015

Lukas Podolski completes move from Arsenal to Galatasaray

Lukas Podolski put the finishing touches on his move from Arsenal to Galatasaray after undergoing a medical and signing a contract in Istanbul on Saturday.

The 30-year-old was greeted by fans at Sabiha Gokcen Airport on Saturday morning after flying in to finalise his move.

Podolski then underwent a medical before signing his three-year contract at the Turk Telecom Arena, understood to be for an initial fee of 2.5million euros (£1.8m) plus add-ons.

The club made the transfer official on Saturday afternoon despite the best efforts of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to convince Podolski to stay in north London.

'We had very good talks with Wenger,' Podolski's representative Nassim Touihri told Bild. 'He wanted to keep Lukas, but couldn’t give him a guarantee that he will be starter. 'That’s why we agreed on a transfer.'

Podolski netted 31 goals in 82 appearances for Arsenal since joining the club from Cologne in 2012.

The left-footed former Bayern Munich man was on loan at Inter Milan from Arsenal for the second half of last season, and scored one goal in 17 games in Serie A.